From Best Friend to Girlfriend
by Dattebayo Devon
Summary: Masaomi was still afraid to approach his friends. Mikado was bored and trying to desperately evade the Blue Squares' Radar. What happens when the two meet up, and one doesn't recognize the other for special reasons? Hilarity, of course!
1. Little Ray of Sunshine

**AN: **Welcome to day "three" of the March Mayhem! We'll probably be dying later, but that'll happen when it comes. Anyways, enjoy this new fanfiction. It is being written for the kink meme (yeah, by now, we all know that we all go there). This is basically a preview. To avoid spoilers and to keep first chapter suspense, I'm not spilling the basics until the second chapter is posted. However, I am obligated to post the kink meme link since it is honorable to not plagiarize or claim ideas that were not one's own … but seriously, if you don't want spoilers, don't read it just yet. Wait a few days. You can do it. This chapter's fairly short, because it's just meant to get things rolling, so you don't need to know just yet. It's going to stay T rated (it's not meant to be incredibly serious). Remember, reviews – bountiful reviews – is what's going to keep us moving during the March Mayhem, so please read and review!

**Kink Link (Without Spaces): **http : / / drrrkink . livejournal . com / 3511 . html ? thread = 10785207 # t10785207

**Disclaimer: **We do not in any way own the characters/scenes/ … oh you know the drill I'm sure.

* * *

**From Best Friend to Girlfriend**

**A Durarara! Fanfiction written by Kitty & Foxy**

**Chapter One: Little Ray of Sunshine

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**

He felt himself being thrust forward a little as the train screeched, slowing down into the next station. He heard the voice come over the speakers, and then watched as a mass of people departed from the train, and another mass boarded. The train started up again, and as he soon approached his destination, he sank even further into depression.

_What do I do now?_ A boy by the name of Kida Masaomi felt so alone in the world. He and his girlfriend, Saki, had broken up sometime after leaving Ikebukuro. He had left his friends behind to start anew with his girlfriend … but now he felt back at the bottom again. Starting from a zero point that he didn't want to be at. He hadn't imagined that things could go wrong with him and Saki, but … heck, it was complicated. The two of them had connected and shared quite a past together, but it seems that there still were too many rocks. But, even now, he still felt connected to her.

The train made a transition from underground to above; he looked out the nearest window at the concrete jungle before him. It seemed so cold. What had he liked about cities, to begin with? Other than he had to move to one because of his parents' jobs … The "liveliness," he guessed. But without friends or loved ones in it as well, everything seemed so much duller, unappreciated, and isolated. It's funny how despite being in an overcrowded train car, with plenty of chatter going on around him, he felt so alone. These people meant nothing to him. He needed a simple "hello" from someone he knew, but he was too scared to face anyone who could give him that "hello" he desperately desired.

Maybe all he needed was to go out and find some cute girls to hang out with. He never had a problem before with talking to strangers … if he had, he wouldn't have been able to be a gang leader in the first place, now would he? He was able to stir up conversations with complete strangers … as long as they had nice curves. Suddenly an image of Saki came to his mind and he cursed under his breath.

_It's just like during my second failure … Both the ass and Saki reminded me that no matter how hard I tried to hook up with another girl, I'd always end up going back to her. Damn it!_ When Saki had reminded him, he felt guilty beyond belief. When the ass (Izaya) had said it though, he felt infuriated beyond belief. That detestable man always had to be right, didn't he? But, as much as he hated to admit it, perhaps continuing to work for him would get his mind off a lot of things. Izaya's "work" wasn't exactly boring, and it sometimes took a lot of ingenuity and courage, so it was hard to think of other things at the same time. He didn't really feel like facing Mikado and Anri right now, despite how much he yearned to see their smiling faces again. No. If he saw them now, he'd probably break – and not in a nice way, either.

The train soon reached his dreaded destination, and he got off, looking around at the all-too-familiar surroundings. _So what should I do? _He wondered; he had left in such a hurry that he didn't really think everything through. _I guess I can head home …_ he probably could. He doubted his parents – who were always on numerous business trips everywhere – even noticed he wasn't living at home anymore. Yes, that would probably be the best place to go …

He headed up the escalators and reached the top, looking around at the towering buildings and masses of unknown faces. Taking a deep sigh, he turned and started heading towards home, lost in his depressing thoughts.

_It's all familiar and unfamiliar now._ He noted on his surroundings. _A clique of girls …_ the kind he didn't really like, anyways. _Business men arguing on their phones … _yack, yack, yack … _Mother with angry child …_ said child was throwing a temper tantrum and mother was scolding it. _Group of thugs ganging up on someone …_

…_Wait, what?_ Masaomi backtracked a little, looking over his shoulder and down the alleyway. There appeared to be a group of thugs – wearing, of course, the infamous yellow scarf that Masaomi wished would just vanish - but he couldn't tell what they were up to, nor did he even recognize them. They looked like they were surrounding something …

_No, I don't want to get involved with them again. I already did twice, and each time failed miserably. _His shoulders sank, and he was about to move on ahead, when he started to overhear them.

"Come on, sweetie, we'll show you a good time!"

"E-eh, but I don't want …" Came the timid, squeaking voice of the female persuasion.

At that moment, Masaomi's chivalrous side started to appear. _Are they trying to bully a girl?_ Masaomi frowned, looking back once more, trying to see around the masses of bulky idiots so he could confirm his suspicions.

Yep, it seemed it was true. The three idiots had cornered a girl about his age (he presumed), and a pretty one, at that! Dressed rather modestly, but still fashionably, with a knee-length skirt, blouse, and jacket. Long bangs, with unbraided pigtails hanging down a little past her shoulders. Didn't exactly have the greatest curves, and was on the somewhat tall side, but hey, it didn't mean she was ugly.

"We know some _great _places to go to; there's no need to be scared of us," one of them had the gall to grab the girl's arm, but she looked terrified now.

"B-but I don't want to -!"

Masaomi frowned, feeling his blood start to boil. _Are they trying to assault her?_ He started heading down the alleyway, quietly, of course, hoping he wouldn't be noticed too quickly. These people were masquerading as yellow scarves; and, as he had created the yellow scarves, he'd feel horrible if he let something bad happen because of something stupid in his past.

She squeaked when she was yanked forward, and one of the ruffians went behind her and clapped a heavy hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll be careful –" It was then that the one behind her went a little too far and started feeling her up while she started to struggle. It was also then that he looked confused. "Hey I think this chick's a d –"

Masaomi took this moment to act: he harshly yanked the back of one of their shirts, effectively knocking him over backwards, surprising everyone there. He used his foot to whack the other's head into the ground, stunning him.

"Hey, brat! What do you think you're doing?" The one holding the girl's arm snarled, letting go and charging the blond haired teen.

_They're not really Yellow Scarves members if they don't recognize me …_ he concluded, deciding it'd be alright to take them out then. He dodged the punch thrown at him and struck his own, winding the punk and making him fall over as well. _Oww, that hurt my knuckles a little! _Masaomi winced, feeling that he had hit some bone pretty hard.

The third one also let go of the girl (who then quickly backed off), and charged him, but he tripped the third one on top of the second punk, winding the second one again, who had been trying to get back up.

Masaomi looked over at the girl and taken aback at the deer-in-the-headlights look he got. "Are you okay?" He asked, a little concerned. She, however, stayed still and shocked._ She's probably not used to witnessing fights …_

It was then that he noticed that two of the thugs were starting to climb back up to their feet, and all were clearly pissed off. _Aww crap._ "Come on, let's go!" Masaomi, this time, was the one to grab her by the arm and started tearing down the alleyway and onto the street, despite the fact that she was struggling to keep up with him and protesting against his sudden action.

He noticed she look flustered as she was trying to keep running at his pace in the traditional heels, and clearly failing at it. It probably meant she wasn't used to dressing up, but inwardly, he grinned to himself. _She's so cute! _Of course, such thoughts always crossed his mind with _any_ girl, but he did have preferences: such as, for one, girls that didn't plaster themselves with make-up or try too hard to "show off," but knew how to dress nicely. This one was dressed rather modestly, but still had a sense of fashion. Saki had been such a gir—

He suddenly felt depressed once more, and started slowing down, as he figured they were far enough and he didn't want to drag the poor girl any further, who clearly was not used to such running. He waited for a minute, thinking things through before he'd turn around. Why was he doing this? He'd just been depressed a little while ago, did he even have the right to feel like the flirt he enjoyed playing?

_Wait … maybe this is what I need. Maybe I need to find someone new to date, to help me regain my confidence, before I meet up with Mikado and Anri-chan and everyone else!_ He thought about it for a few minutes, turning to stare at the girl, little realizing that he was making her feel very uncomfortable. Yes, he still loved Saki dearly … but she had rejected him. And he knew she was still infatuated with the asshole (a.k.a. Izaya). They needed time apart. And he needed something to get him up out of the dumps, especially before he reproached his friends and had to explain himself … The girl in front of him was cute, seemingly shy, and it was an opportune time to ask for a date! After all, he juts saved her from a bunch of thugs, right?

_Of course, there's no telling if she's willing to date me. But let's give it a try!_

"There could be no one but you! The Prince always saves the damsel in distress and they live happily ever after! Now, let us hurry off into the sunset together! What do you say?" He offered out his hands in an embracing gesture, a childish grin plastered on his face.

"W-w-w-what?" Came out the squeaky, shocked answer from the wide-eyed beauty.

"Be my girl, my little ray of sunshine?"


	2. The Plan to Escape

**AN:** It is now day "four" of the March Mayhem … anyways, enjoy. Essentially, it's a cross-dressing!Mikado being pursued by clueless!Masaomi and being hounded by a jealous!Aoba. This chapter is mostly setting up. So there isn't that much dialogue … yet. Just a lot of Mikado reasoning. Remember, reviews – bountiful reviews – is what's going to keep the March Mayhem (and us) moving, so review!

**Kink Link (Without Spaces): **http : / / drrrkink . livejournal . com / 3511 . html ? thread = 10785207 # t10785207

**Disclaimer: **We do not in any way own the characters/scenes/ … oh you know the drill I'm sure.

* * *

**From Best Friend to Girlfriend**

**A Durarara! Fanfiction written by Foxy**

**Chapter Two: The Plan to Escape

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**

_**A few weeks earlier …**_

… _Bored._

That was the thought that crossed Ryuugamine Mikado's mind as he lie flat on his back, staring up at the ceiling of his ratty apartment. He was bored. It was that simple.

It wasn't like his life had become too monotonous. Far from it, the series of events that had occurred thus far turned out far more adventurous and exciting than he ever expected. His exciting life wasn't confined by merely being the founder of Dollars, either. He was now gaining plenty of "enemies" by both managing Dollars and in becoming the figurehead of the Blue Squares. And since the Blue Squares was more open in the world than Dollars, his face was surely becoming known by people he'd rather not know or ever chance to meet – at least, not until he was bored with life again.

But, as of right now, the Blue Squares was proving more annoying than interesting. They had taken to tailing him. And they were tailing him _everywhere._ To school, from school, to the stores, and … pretty much everywhere.

He rolled over, trying to think of a way to get rid of them. He'd tried evading them, but they were pretty good at what they did. _Maybe I need a disguise of sorts …_ He could dye his hair, but eventually they'd notice that. And sunglasses and a hat and long coat were far too overused. _Then I should disguise myself as a completely different person. _He thought through a variety of disguises, but of course, he had to cross each one off. He was just too recognizable. But then a strange idea hit him … _What if … I dressed myself as a girl?_

He started laughing a little, but his smile faltered when the image wouldn't go away. _That I might actually be able to pull off … since I can pick a wig and some fashion, but …_ he was straight! What if someone found that out? It'd be a lot more embarrassing than other disguises … not to mention, he didn't know a whole lot about girls' fashion. He had no idea how they picked what they picked. Or why.

But, after a while, he couldn't think up anything better. Frowning, he decided he'd try a disguise. It would prove interesting to fool the surveillance … and a girl disguise would probably be his best bet. _Okay, tomorrow, I'll go to the store, pick some … girl stuff up, and we'll see how it goes.  
*_

Mikado gave a small wave back with a crooked smile, feeling his eyebrow twitch as the two members turned back again, but were clearly more alert and on the lookout. _Seriously … they don't even let me go shopping alone anymore …? _Their ever-increasing surveillance was beginning to make him uncomfortable. Well, this wouldn't do. There was no way he could easily pick up disguise materials without them noticing and reporting it back. He'd probably be the end of every joke if the two caught him heading into the aisles that specifically carried female items and picking up what he required. Heck, he didn't even think the store would let him get away with trying out the girl's clothes.

_Then … what do I do?_ Even if he got the items, he wouldn't know what to do with them. The world of frills, fashion, make-up and pretty colors was alien to him. He considered going to a girl for advice, but then he realized that the girl's reaction to his reasons might not be worth it. He didn't want Anri to think he _liked_ cross-dressing or that he was experimenting or anything strange; he wasn't. He just wanted to get away from the surveillance and make it convincing that it wasn't him. Karisawa-san, who was an otaku to the maximum and probably daydreamed about this sort of thing in her spare time, would probably scare him. He also thought about Celty-san, but could he _really_ trust a headless fairy's sense of fashion? … Probably not.

He started glancing around, trying to get an idea of what he should do. _Maybe I should do some sort of research before going through with this …_ but how? Observing girls? Reading girly things? His eyes drifted over to the magazine rack, and an idea came to mind. Fashion magazines. Clothing magazines. That'd be perfect. His tail wouldn't be able to see exactly what it was he was buying, and the store wouldn't question him too much about it. Plus, some clothing magazines allowed online, phone, or mail orders. So he made his way over to the magazines, and tried not to make it obvious that he was looking at those specific magazines (his two friends had moved closer as well). As he managed to pull some of the magazines off the rack and make his way to the cashier, he inwardly smiled to himself.

This was exciting. Well, not really the "dressing up as a girl" part, but more of the "how long can I do this before they notice? If at all?" It would prove amusing to fool his very own surveillance and gangs by learning how to cross-dress well. The cross-dressing wouldn't be for too long, anyways. He'd either grow bored of it, get caught in it, or his surveillance would gradually vanish or he'd find another way to fool it.

The cashier didn't even seem to care as the "girly" magazines slid across the built-in table top scanner and were lightly shoved into a bag, along with the other things Mikado had picked up to stock his fridge. He probably saw girls on the covers and assumed "ah, it's what all male teenagers buy" (even though Mikado, being the fairly shy guy he was, would deny to the grave that he'd purchase such a thing) and didn't bother to look at the true nature of the magazines. Mikado paid for his purchase, took the bags, and headed back home, with the two members following behind.  
*

He couldn't help but feel a little perturbed as he closed and locked his front door, slipping his shoes off and walking over to where his laptop was stationed. The two Blue Squares members that he'd met in the store had followed him home to make sure he _got_ home. He pretended he didn't notice, but he did, and the surveillance was rather blatantly obvious. _They walked where I walked, stopped when I stopped, and they finally headed back in the direction they came when I reached my street._ He knew that they wouldn't come right up to his apartment, though. The surveillance wasn't his orders; it was Kuronuma Aoba's. If they started coming too close to his apartment, it would mean treading into a dangerous gray area in which Mikado and Aoba would have to establish leadership boundaries. But it didn't seem like it would have to come to that just yet. Mikado didn't have enough real power and loyalty to back himself, and Aoba-kun didn't seem to be making too many aggressive behaviors.

Pushing such thoughts aside, he sat down at his table where his laptop was, pulled out the girly magazines as he waited for his laptop to turn on, and started studying them. He didn't know a _thing_ about how girls dressed, so he assumed the magazines could help him, since asking any of the girls he knew would probably end horrendously. He looked for modest clothes that he could hide in, as well as things he could afford. He used the internet to double check on what he needed (stockings, what a "padded" bra was, etc.). A few hours later, he completed the form in the magazine, wrote a check, stuck it all in envelope and stuck it in his neighbor's mailbox (he didn't know if the Blue Squares liked rifling through his mail, so he thought he'd be on the safe side). Now he'd just have to wait a while longer for the clothes to arrive. For now, he'd do his homework, and later, he'd start researching girly … mannerisms. And practice his girly voice.  
*

About a week and a half (and many annoyances) later, a box from the company arrived for him. He couldn't say he was excited, per say, but this would prove interesting. He lugged the box into his apartment, and opened it. He took all the clothes out, blushing while cautiously holding the undergarments, and laid them out on the table. _Well, I should probably try this out soon._ He decided. He stripped down to his boxers, and, whilst having a mental battle, decided on putting the bra on first.

_Wait … how do I even do this? _He wondered, struggling as he attempted to fasten the padded bra in back. He couldn't see where the hooks were supposed to go. He fought with it for several minutes, before giving up and slinking back to his laptop and looking up what he was supposed to do. _I better remember to delete my history after all this is done …_

He soon found a trick for hooking a bra; he pulled the straps off, turned the base of the bra backwards, hooked it in the front, turned it back around, and then pulled the straps up. Finally, one of the worst parts was over. Now he just had to stuff it so the padding didn't bend in at weird angles. After finishing that, he picked up of the other clothes he had ordered off of the table, holding up – of course – the other undergarments, and flushing a deep red at the thought of wearing them. _I feel like a complete pervert. But I'm not doing this for perverse reasons, so … so …_ he set them back down, and instead picked up the soft, dark navy plaid skirt. The bra was bad enough. But the skirt was knee-long, so maybe he could still wear his boxers under the skirt without any trouble …?

He pulled the skirt up, letting the stretchy band fit around his waist. He looked at himself in his pathetic mirror, and frowned. Sadly, the boxer outlines could be seen through it. So, with plenty of mental curses and stutters, he exchanged his boxers for the … panties. At least they weren't frilly panties – he didn't think he'd ever work up courage to buy those! – they were just simple cotton panties that could hide his parts rather well. Still, it felt … very uncomfortable.

_Ugh, let's just get this over with._ He knew he was still blushing like crazy. He took the knee-length stockings and slid them up, for once glad he didn't have a muscular frame. It meant he didn't look too much like a freak in girl's clothes (even though it made him feel like one). He then put on the purple (and frilly) blouse, adjusting it so the bra couldn't be seen. Next, came the long-sleeved jacket, which was also navy blue and came down to his hips. He buttoned two of the buttons towards the top (as it was done in the fashion magazine), and looked at himself in the mirror. _I look like a drag queen._ He gagged a little, but he knew it'd look better once he tried the wig and shoes. He didn't have make-up yet; make-up was still something alien to him, and he didn't feel mentally ready to try _that_ yet.

He tried on the traditional shoes, making sure that he was in them properly. But when he tried to move, he nearly killed himself by tripping on the low heels. _How do girls walk in these things?_ He wondered, and carefully walked himself over to the table again, this time picking up the wigs, pins, hair bands and scissors. He headed back to the mirror, trying to re-adapt to the shoes. On went the wig, and he frowned. It was a little too long, really … at least, he thought so. So he pinned it on, and took the scissors, and cut out some bangs (that covered his own short hair at the least) and cut the hair so that it hung to about chest level. He saw his eyebrow twitch in the mirror as he smiled at himself, finally getting a full look at how he looked. _It's almost scary how well I can probably pull this off …_ he prayed no one would _ever_ find out about this, though. He made sure the wig was secure before putting in the hair bands, giving himself two pigtails that hung loosely down his back. Lastly, came the purse. Something that he saw girls go out with a lot. He'd picked a simple, small (and cheapest) purse from the magazine, that was a light beige in coloring. Even though his jacket had pockets, he still put his phone and wallet in it. He looked at himself in the mirror once more, and feigned the girly voice he'd been practicing while the wait for the clothes.

_Crap, I sound convincing._

He slouched a little in depression; this was humiliating … _but if I do it right, no one will ever know. _Plus, the Blue Squares' pressure was getting to him. He wasn't used to being followed everywhere. And, he doubted that the Blue Squares would recognize him. He had no hips, and he was rather tall for a "girl," but he doubted they'd recognize him. _I can do this … and if it works, then I can use this as an escape for other things._

He used the next half hour, nit picking over everything, making absolute certain he was convincing in appearance, voice, and walking in the shoes. Deciding that he probably couldn't do much more, he took a deep breath, and headed out the door.


	3. Unexpected Encounter

**AN: **Ugh, we're really trying not to fall behind during the March Mayhem! (Although, with the petty number of reviews we've been getting, we might slow it down to every other day.) Anyway, it's mostly me, Foxy, working on this particular story, 'cause cross-dressing isn't really Kitty's fetish (she likes other stuff), but it's one of mine … so … yeah. Oh, and terracannon876, thank you for unknowingly providing humor, as Kitty and I were talking about how there we're not sure if there are any guys on this site, and we were talking about who might be a guy, and when we started talking about you, you apparently story alerted this story … yes, we got our laughs. Our sincerest apologies if we're wrong guessing your gender. -_- Anywho, read and review! I mean it! REVIEW NO MATTER HOW CRAPPY YOUR REVIEW IS OR YOU WON'T SEE ANY UPDATES!

**Kink Link (Without Spaces): **http : / / drrrkink . livejournal . com / 3511 . html ? thread = 10785207 # t10785207

**Disclaimer:** We do not in any way own the characters/scenes/ … oh you know the drill I'm sure.

* * *

**From Best Friend to Girlfriend**

**A Durarara! Fanfiction written by Foxy**

**Chapter Three: Unexpected Encounter

* * *

**

Masaomi's intensive stare was making him uncomfortable. Mikado felt like a deer in the headlights of a five-ton truck speeding down the highway. _He had to have recognized me … oh f**k how do I explain this …? "H-hi, Kida-kun, it's been a while since we've seen each other … I'm dressed like this 'cause I have to be?"_ It wasn't going to go over well. At all. His attempt to fool his surveillance had already backfired! And on the first night that he'd found the courage to go out in public!

It had all been alright … up to this moment. He snuck past the member hanging out at the end of his street. He had been able to go out without surveillance, even if it had been _greatly_ uncomfortable in the dreaded heels. He'd seen girls run in _much_ higher heels before, he still wasn't sure how they did it.

He went to a movie. Hiding in the darkness had been comfortable for him, as he could spread his legs out without having to worry about people looking at him weirdly (or figuring out he was a guy). He also didn't have to be too paranoid about people possibly seeing his paranoia.

It was coming out of the movies that had been the problem. Some "yellow scarves" members had … picked him out (how, he wasn't sure; he didn't think he was the prettiest thing around. Maybe he looked too "innocent," but that would hurt his pride). They kind of led him down the alleyway, and before he knew it, one groped him and Masaomi – _Masaomi, of all people, his best friend that had been missing in action without any response – _came to his "rescue" and yanked him to safety. And now, Masaomi was staring him down.

_He must've recognized me … this disguise can't be that good … _

Mikado prepared himself to run if the deadly questions were asked. He'd answer his friend's questions later after burning everything he was wearing, calming down, and banging his head against something hard in embarrassment. Things couldn't get worse.

"There could be no one but you! The Prince always saves the damsel in distress and they live happily ever after! Now, let us hurry off into the sunset together! What do you say?" He offered out his hands in an embracing gesture, a childish grin plastered on his face.

Even though it hadn't been what Mikado was expecting, the five-ton truck still ran him over. "W-w-w-what?" Came out the squeaky, shocked answer. _… Did he just use one of his stupid pick up lines on me? _Mikado had yet to realize what this meant.

"Be my girl, my little ray of sunshine?" Came the pleading question. And the puppy eyes. Mikado had to fight the urge to do what he normally did in the times they hung out together (which was insult his friend and walk away), but he felt like he needed a huge insult since, this time, the lame pick up line was used on _him_. But he couldn't come up with anything under the pressure.

"D-d-do you even _know _me?" He managed to force out, still unsure of what to do.

"Ah, silly me!" Masaomi started a sequence of very dramatic gestures. "My name's Kida Masaomi! A perky young high school boy, recently single and a great catch!" He rambled on about a self-described image, but Mikado wasn't hearing him.

… _He doesn't recognize me._ The thought hit him like a rock, and the sinking feeling came after. His best friend didn't recognize him dressed up as a girl. He _really thought the person in front of him was just another girl._ It was his "luck" to have to encounter his best friend – whom he hadn't seen in a long while – and be in this situation, being barraged by a flirtatious joker of a best friend, who couldn't recognize his childhood friend dressed as a girl. It may save him the embarrassment of being recognized, yes – but he couldn't tell if it felt more embarrassing to have that happen, or to _not_ be recognized, which basically proved he either had the girly looks to do so, or that Masaomi's memory was extremely terrible. He hoped it was more of the latter. Yes, he was cross-dressing right now. But he certainly wanted to keep his masculine identity afterwards.

"And what's your name, my sweet princess?" Masaomi grinned, giving an almost princely bow.

… _I've got to get out of here before I throw up. _Mikado may have just encountered his missing best friend, but he didn't want the encounter to be like this. Feigning his girly voice once more, he uttered, "I – I've got to go home," and started walking back – fast. But not fast enough. Masaomi's hand caught his own, only causing Mikado to flush. _God damn it, Masaomi, just let go already!_ He wanted to scream, but he knew that would blow his cover.

"Please promise me just one date?" Came the puppy stare again. More of a kicked puppy, though. _… And it's working on me._ He was going to scrub his brain with soap later. "Maybe not now, but sometime later this week?"

… Mikado was now a hundred percent certain that Masaomi didn't recognize him. At all.

He didn't find an answer before Masaomi had magically whipped out a pen and a piece of paper from who-knows-where (maybe his hoodie pocket or something) and had scribbled down what he presumed was a phone number or an email or something. "Just contact me here if you change your mind~" Came the flirtatious answer as he tucked the little piece of paper in his hand. "I promise we'll go someplace public if that's what you're worried about."

"I've really got to go." This time, Mikado ran fast enough (and running in heels – though be they short, traditional heels – was far more difficult than he ever imagined). He slowed down once he was sure that his friend wasn't following him anymore, and went ahead at a steady walking pace, fully red in the face and clenching his fists.

… _He thought I was a girl … he really thought I was a girl. He wasn't just joking back, he really didn't recognize me at all._ This was utterly humiliating. He had wanted to fool people, yes, but his masculinity was in serious doubt if his best friend all the way from _childhood_ couldn't recognize him under a wig and girl clothing. He intended to head straight home, change back into the clothes he knew, throw all that he wore now into a little box to shove into the most obscure nook he could find, and try to sleep off his embarrassment. But, all the while home and after, he still clenched the little piece of paper in his hand, although he wouldn't read it until morning.


	4. To Masquerade or Not to Masquerade

**AN: **Okay, I think that a "futon" is one of those "Japanese floor beds" … I think. If I'm wrong, please correct me. This is another Mikado's thinking chapter. I promise there'll be more dialogue and "action" in future chapters, I just promised Kitty I'd keep all these chapters short for her. I'm writing this late at night so please alert me of errors. Also, PLEASE SUBMIT ONESHOT IDEAS! We have zero to work from and it's terrible as time is coming to a close! Please read and review.

**Special Notice:** Whoever submits the best one-shot idea _ever_ (of your own creativity and uniqueness, please nothing insanely cliché) by March 15th, 2011, will receive a one-shot of said idea on March 31st, 2011. This one-shot can be of anything (angst, romance, smut, horror, cuteness, pairing / non-pairing, etc.) so long as it's creative, it's game. Your request to us needs to be thought-out, along with any little "bullet points" you want us to note or write. The one-shot will be pushed into the 7,000 – 10,000 word range, unless the requester wants less. We'll pick the one that appeals to the both of us (if you aren't picked, no worries – we still might ask to do it). We will give partial credit to the requester. Any further questions? Just add them into your request when you message us. Multiple submissions are allowed. We have no submissions as of yet!

**Kink Meme Link (Without Spaces): **http : / / drrrkink . livejournal . com / 3511 . html ? thread = 10785207 # t10785207

**Disclaimer: **We do not in any way own the characters/scenes/ … oh you know the drill I'm sure.

* * *

**From Best Friend to Girlfriend**

**A Durarara! Fanfiction written by Foxy**

**Chapter Four: To Masquerade or Not to Masquerade

* * *

**

_Beep! Beep! Beep!_

His eyes flew open at the sound of his alarm clock going off next to his head. Slightly surprised, he jolted up, finding out that it was morning. _I don't believe it … I managed to fall asleep._

Mikado blinked, and realized that he still felt tired. He rubbed his eyes, remembering the night before. His humiliation had been so severe that he had hurried home, torn off the clothes, thrown them all in a corner of the room and tried to sleep. But he kept repeating the scene in his mind, making him all the more severely embarrassed and anxious and unable to sleep. The more he thought about it, the tighter he had wrapped himself into the blankets and turned five shades redder than the previous red when he reached the same conclusion:

_My best friend … didn't recognize me dressed up as a girl._

The humiliation returned, and he pulled his knees up and hit his head on them. _God damn it …_ he met his friend after how long since he vanished? And it had to be under _these_ circumstances?

There was absolutely no way he could tell anyone about this. Or, even though he desperately wanted to meet up with Masaomi again, he didn't want it to be under these circumstances. _I don't even think I could face him right now as I am … not until this passes._ He let out a grumble and looked back up at the clock. _… I should get ready for school. Just go on with my day, and try to forget all about this._

He stood up and went to the closet and pulled out some of his clothes. His _actual_ clothes. Boy clothes. He glared at the girl clothes tossed in a heap in the corner of the room, and sighed.

_It actually worked … but I can't do it again._ He decided. Yes, he had slipped past the Blue Squares' "Mikado Radar." And he felt relieved at not being watched all the time. But all it got him was trouble, and the one time that he could've have met his missing friend, it was under circumstances that he could _never_ reveal. It wasn't just that he'd be hurt, he was sure Masaomi would as well. After all, he did take Mikado to be a girl. If Masaomi ever found out, then he'd probably avoid Mikado like the plague for a while. Plus, he'd also have to explain _why_ he was dressed up like a girl in the first place, which he doubted he could do very well.

_But at least I know Masaomi's back in Ikebukuro. Maybe I could look for him after school, as myself …_ he stopped his thoughts for a few minutes. _No, the Blue Squares would get suspicious if I just walk aimlessly around Ikebukuro … they might think I'm up to something, and figure out who I'm trying to find._ This was terrible. He could intentionally try to head to places, in hopes of running into Masaomi on the streets, but even then, if he _did_ meet Masaomi, the Blue Squares would investigate him. He couldn't tell Anri that he met Masaomi, either. She'd be curious as to how they met, and it'd be difficult to explain that Masaomi didn't recognize him because … well …

… _Circumstances are cruel. _He grouched to himself, grabbing his bag and stuffing his school books into it. Deciding he'd hide the girl clothes in case the Blue Squares finally decided to investigate his apartment (he figured it'd be inevitable at some time), he scooped up the clothes, shoes, wig and other accessories, and hauled them over to his futon. He kicked them between the blankets and packed his futon away, feeling ready for school and better now that the clothes were temporarily hidden. He really wanted to burn them, but knowing his luck, he'd burn down half his apartment. _There, I can put this all behind me._ He nodded, but then noticed a piece of paper on the floor.

Curious, he picked it up, and remembered what it was. The shade of rose he turned could be described as ridiculously hilarious.

… _That's right. He gave me his phone number._ He started to crush the paper in his palm again, but hesitated. _Wait … I don't even recognize this number._ He opened it back up, and realized it was true. It wasn't the number he had for Masaomi. _… Does that mean he changed his number?_

That would explain why Masaomi hadn't contacted him by phone. But this meant that Mikado now _had _a way to contact him. _There's a way to find out how Masaomi's been doing …_ his eyes drifted over to his closet, where his futon was stuffed away, but he quickly shook his head, pulled on his shoes, and walked to school. He wasn't going to give this another thought.  
*

Damn, he was giving this another thought. Mikado cursed as he toyed with the pen in his hands, trying to pay attention to class but failing miserably. Why would he care about trigonometry when his best friend finally showed up? Mikado and Anri had been worried sick about Masaomi. They were his friends; they wanted to make sure he was okay, at the very least. He looked okay when Mikado had met him "in disguise," but … something seemed just a tad bit off about him, now that he thought about it.

Then what was he going to do? Meeting him directly would endanger Masaomi. He was certain Kuronuma would want him investigated. But meeting him as a girl could result disastrously, too. _This is terrible …_ he started scratching his head in frustration, attempting to focus on the school work, but still unsuccessful. _What am I going to do? If anything? Do I just let this pass? Do I chance meeting him? Do I … disguise myself again? Even for only one more time?_ He felt like he couldn't let this go. He wanted to know how Masaomi was doing, and support him in any way possible … but he couldn't pull it off by pretending to be his _girlfriend_ … eventually, even Masaomi would figure out it was him. He doubted Masaomi was that stupid. _Although, he was stupid enough to guess I was one last night …_ he tried not to growl in the classroom.

_Does he even deserve my help if he didn't recognize me?_ He wondered, but he knew he wanted to see his best friend again. If he at least knew that Masaomi was alright, then he could feel relieved, and at least let Anri know that he was alright.

Suddenly, an idea came to him. _I know what I could do. I could just call him, and talk in the girl voice. _He realized. _I don't HAVE to meet him again, just … text or call him as a girl does. _That would be far less embarrassing! But would he really get to know how Masaomi was doing that way? He'd have to; he wasn't ready to try the clothes again.

_Alright, I'll send along a message. But I'll use my other phone._ He didn't want to chance Masaomi recognizing his number. That would end disastrously too. Feeling more relieved that he had worked something out, he found he could concentrate a little bit better in class.  
*

He got home, irritated that the Blue Squares were still following him. _At least they're still not coming right up to my apartment. _And it didn't look like they'd been through his apartment. He sat down, pulled out what he called his "back-up phone" (he was afraid that some "enemy" might try to sabotage his phone), and programmed in Masaomi's number. He took a deep breath, and looked at the piece of paper again. _… He referred to himself as Masa-chan._ This was _stupid_. Was he really going to go through with this.

_But it might be the only way I ever meet him again … it might be the only way to help him out …_ he didn't like it, but he had to admit, it could be a lot worse. Masaomi could've found out that Mikado had been cross-dressing and that could've been the end of their friendship right then and there.

_Messaging should be okay for now. _He decided. _It's a different level from cross-dressing. _Mikado tried to think up a girly message, and chose this:

[_Is this "Masa-chan?" From last night?]_ He really couldn't think up anything cleverer, and he refused to put in any smiley faces in the message. He had his pride. Even if he was doing this, he still had his pride. _If only he knew what I was going through to help him out … well, if he knew, he'd probably faint._ Well, it would serve him right for running away. He sent the message, and now he'd have to wait for a reply, which he might not even get. _I've done what I can, we'll see what happens from here._


	5. Masachan Got a Girlfriend

**AN: **I was going to use the Japanese smileys, but then I got lost (I'm still teaching myself Japanese, guys). So when you see Masaomi's texts, just … imagine these weird little smileys at the end of them. Hope you enjoy! Please read and review! And I want to see more one shot requests, people!

**Kink Meme Link (Without Spaces): **http : / / drrrkink . livejournal . com / 3511 . html ? thread = 10785207 # t10785207

**Disclaimer: **We do not in any way own the characters/scenes/ … oh you know the drill I'm sure.

* * *

**From Best Friend to Girlfriend**

**A Durarara! Fanfiction written by Foxy**

**Chapter Five: Masa-chan Got a Girlfriend

* * *

**

Masaomi rolled over on his bed, finally getting a real chance to relax. Yes, he had slept for hours when he finally got home; then he showered, cooked himself a big meal, and cleaned up his room some. It looked like his parents came home once, but it was probably only for a few hours before shipping off to somewhere new. There were letters in the mailbox, some of which were allowance checks written to him (so he could feed himself). So, he had something to support himself with for a while.

He started cleaning out the messages on his phone. He deleted the ones from the ass, skipping past the other ones. Soon, he saw a number he didn't recognize, so he opened it out of curiosity.

[_Is this "Masa-chan?" From last night?]_

Masaomi stared wide-eyed at his phone's screen after he scanned over the message. _Seriously? A girl actually responded to me?_ This was a rarity! A gift! Even if he met this girl under a different scenario than the usual, it still surprised him. Smiling as he relaxed his back on his bed, he started typing back. _Maybe I'll get a girlfriend sooner than I thought!_  
*

Mikado heard his phone vibrate on the table, taking a moment to look from his essay on the laptop's screen to check the phone. It came from his second phone, so he could guess who it was.

[_Hello my princess! Did you miss your prince? How are you feeling?_]

Mikado frowned, his eyebrow twitching a little. He was used to his friend flirting, but not flirting at _him_. Even though Masaomi had no idea that he was flirting with him.

[_I'm feeling alright. I just wanted to say thanks._] Mikado typed back. He wasn't sure how to go about this … how would a girl act in this scenario? He certainly didn't have a clue.

[_Ah, no need to thank me! Anyone would've saved a pretty girl like yourself!_]

… If only Masaomi knew how much he was wounding Mikado's pride.

Another message came to his phone before he responded. [_I don't think I caught your name last time, sweetie._]

Mikado hesitated. …_Name?_ He hadn't thought about that. He couldn't use his actual name for obvious reasons. But it couldn't be anything too outlandish, either. _Uuh … uuh …_ it needed to be something he'd recognize and respond to immediately, wouldn't it? So something similar to his own name? He could pick a common surname. He could even pick the surname he used online: Tanaka. That was something he recognized, and it was common enough that he doubted anyone would make the connection (there were four Tanakas in his own year in high school!). But for a given name? It'd also have to be something he recognized. He could shorten his name to "Mika," but that only reminded him of the stalker girl. Finally, he came up with a solution.

[_I'm Tanaka Mikan. What was your name again?_]

[_Kida Masaomi. But you can just call me Masa-chan!_]

… _That's not happening._ Mikado frowned. The line had to be drawn somewhere.

Masaomi sent another message. [_Do you want to go out with me sometime?]_

Mikado stiffened. That's exactly what he was trying to avoid! How was he supposed to answer? [_I don't know about that._]

[_Well, if you change your mind, Mi-chan, I'll probably still be single! Can't guarantee that, though. I'm quite popular!_]

… Did he really think that was the way to pick up girls? He wasn't _that_ great. Mikado shut the phone, his eyebrow still twitching. He reminded himself again he was doing this for Masaomi's sake, and tried to go back to focusing on his essay, letting this "dating" thing nag him at the back of his mind.  
*

… _Damn it._ Mikado cursed. He decided that the only way he was really going to get to know how Masaomi was doing was to try on the clothes again. So, here he was, in front of the mirror, once again struggling with the bra.

He wasn't going to meet Masaomi right now. He hadn't even arranged it yet. But he wasn't stupid; he couldn't wear the same girl clothes again and again. That would get suspicious. He was dressing up again so he could sneak past the surveillance and go out to a clothing store and pick up … more girl clothes. He finished up his clothes and wig, making sure that they were on properly. He took up the purse with his wallet inside, and headed out the door.  
*

Once again, he fooled the radar. _At least now I know the first time wasn't a fluke on their part._ He decided. But it still somewhat hurt his pride. _I'm not even sure I have pride anymore …_ he sighed. He headed into the shopping district, and soon into a clothing store. He headed into the first one he found, as his heels were murder on his feet. Forcing himself over to the girl's side, he tried to remember what he read on the internet: find clothes whose colors, patterns, and styles work together. He believed he researched that enough … he hoped so, anyways. He found some that he wouldn't be extremely humiliated wearing, and started to head over to the men's dressing room, but stopped.

_Wait … I'm disguised as a girl. That means I have to go into …_

… Okay. He was embarrassed for sure now. He even felt his hands start to shake a little. _I've got to do this … I'm not a pervert. I'm not going to look or peep or anything crazy. Just … just make sure these fit. _He took a deep breath, and turned, and headed into the woman's changing room. He tried not to look at anything as he quickly ducked into a stall, turning and locking it, letting out his breath. It had been better than he thought it would be, but it still felt … weird. He was on the girl's side! There were girls … changing on either side of him … The girl in the stall left to him was shouting to a girl in a different stall about how some shirt didn't make her sexy enough. He tried to keep his redness from spreading to his ears, but failed.

_At least you can't see them from where you are, Mikado._ He assured himself. He took another deep breath, and set the clothes on the seat in the stall, deciding to get this over with as quickly as possible. He just wanted to make sure they fit before he bought them; his allowance was meager enough, and spending it on something that didn't fit would be terrible. So, he started trying on the clothes.

He was half changed into one of the new skirts when a knock came at his door, causing him to jump out of his skin. He panicked. _Oh god oh god did someone recognize I'm not a girl? Is someone suspicious? What am I going to do? How am I going to explain this? I – I –_

"Aiko-chan, are you in there?" Came a voice he didn't recognize. _H-huh?_

"No, I'm over here!" Came a voice from a different stall, and the figure outside his went away, saying: "Ah, I found a shirt that'll look really cute on you! You should try it!"

Mikado remained frozen, trying to still his terrified heart. _That was … horrible._ He couldn't take much more. He really couldn't. He changed back into "his" own clothes, not even bothering to try the rest. _If it doesn't fit, I can just return it later._ He told himself. _I'm just going to stick to ordering from magazines. _He scooped up the clothes and hurried out of the stall. He purchased the clothes and hurried home, still trying to regain himself. He wasn't sure he could ever do that again. He lost himself in his thoughts as he headed home, cursing about how his heels were pinching his feet. _Why the heck do girls wear these? They hurt! _He just wanted to get home, tear this all off again, and cook himself dinner.  
*

Masaomi roamed the streets, going in and out of shops, trying to get himself a job. He decided to stop working for Izaya. The ass had just caused too many problems for him, and he didn't want to have that kind of chaos anymore. Now that he was living back at home, he could afford the necessities without having to do extreme jobs. But, since he dropped out of high school, he needed something to do in his time. So he figured he could work part or full time someplace. He had been searching around all day, filling out applications for the places that didn't give too large a frown at the explanation of being a drop-out. _Maybe I should try convincing the school to accept me back next year … _even though he doubted he could. Maybe if he gave some sap explanation about having to drop out to help support his parents or something …

However, he was surprised when he saw a newly familiar figure walking down the sidewalk as he came out of a store. _Hey, it's the gir- uh, Mi-chan!_ He felt a smile splay across his face, and hurried up to catch up to her. _Luck likes me!_

He snuck up behind her, and exclaimed rather boldly: "Hello Mi-chan!"

She jumped straight up, and her elbow swung back as she turned around, whacking him in the ribs. Although Masaomi was used to fighting, he didn't think he had to prepare himself for this, so he scrunched over a little as he grabbed his ribs. The girl's expression went from terrified to surprised to slightly worried. She squeaked out: "Y-you? A-are you okay? I'm sorry!" She bowed down a little, and then bent down to pick up the bag she dropped.

"Nah, I deserved that …" He joked. He did deserve it for sneaking up on her. _She seems moe, but maybe she's slightly tsundere?_ Why did that sound appealing? "Luck must like us for running into each other again so soon! Did you go shopping?" He tried to look in the bag, but she quickly hid it behind her back.

"W-what are you doing here?" She mumbled, averting her eyes away from him.

_So cute!_ He really liked the shier types. "Looking for a job. So, have you given any thought to my offer?" He asked.

"I- I really don't know about that." She answered.

"Why not? Already have a boyfriend?"

"… N-no, it's not that, it's … I don't think my parents want me dating yet."

_Aaah, strict family. That stinks._ But that didn't deter him. Nothing could deter him from any girl. "Then maybe we can go out once without them knowing?"

"T-that's …" She looked like she had no idea what to say. She was probably wondering why he was being so persistent with her, he decided. _Makes sense. _The two started walking back down the sidewalk, as they didn't want to block traffic.

"Let's try for sometime on Saturday! Go to a movie or a show or something. You can tell your parents you're going out with girlfriends. Sound good?"

"…" She sighed. "Alright, I'll check my schedule."

"Great! Let me know through a message later what times work for you!" Masaomi was excited; this was working out so well! He didn't think he could land a girlfriend this quickly. _Probably the experience from having one before …_ but he tried not to think about that. "Want me to walk you home?"

"A-ah, no, that's fine, I don't want my parents knowing a-about …" she waved her arms in a no signal.

Masaomi nodded. That, he understood. They reached the crosswalk, so he smiled and spoke. "Okay. I'm going to part now. Bye!" He waved to her, and headed across as she went ahead.

_This is working out so well! _He grinned to himself. _I'm glad something's going alright. At this rate, I should be okay meeting up with old friends quicker than I thought …_ but he wasn't ready right this moment. Not at all. Now, if only getting hired with the label "dropout" was as easy …


	6. The Upcoming Date

**AN: **Heheheh … just for you, spiel, my friend, I'm going to make the next chapter (the date chapter) longer 'cause I have something special planned … (but don't tell the cat. So shhh! 0.0). I am not the biggest fan of small chapters either, but a) writing many many big chapters does kill me, as there are five plus fanfictions going on right now with nearly 5000-10000 words per chapter (some of which aren't even posted yet), b) Kitty hates big chapters, c) … face it. This fanfiction isn't that serious. It doesn't need extreme detail, as it's not a murder mystery, and it allows me to ramble on naturally. But, I understand your woes, my friend. As for Candybook, Mikado would have a heart attack. For anyone reading this story, girls … really do help each other out in the dressing rooms like that. Now, me? I hate shopping (unless it be for food, crafts, pets or books). So the few times I've gone there, it's been without friends and it's been "bulk buy something that fits and leave immediately." But people have mistook my stall for someone else's and thrown clothes at me over the door, or tried to get in thinking I was someone else, or something crazy along those lines. I have also heard … very interesting conversations. Yes, that stuff does happen. Okay, that's enough story time. Warning you, I've been a little slow lately 'cause I'm really sick. I don't even want to count the number of times I've sneezed boogies all over the screen … Please read and review, and let me know of errors!

**Kink Link (Without Spaces): **http : / / drrrkink . livejournal . com / 3511 . html ? thread = 10785207 # t10785207

**Disclaimer: **We do not in any way own the characters/scenes/ … oh you know the drill I'm sure.

* * *

**From Best Friend to Girlfriend**

**A Durarara! Fanfiction written by Foxy**

**Chapter Six: The Upcoming Date

* * *

**

The door slammed shut behind him. Out of overwhelming frustration with his situation, he swung his foot upward in such a manner that one of the heels easily flew across the room; however, he still wasn't used to balancing on the heels, so he stumbled backwards on the one he still stood on and hit his head on the back of the door. He fell on the ground, nursing his head as he kicked off the other heel.

_Why are these things happening to me?_ He grouched, rubbing one of the sore spots where a pin had dug into his head. He started pulling out the pins, trying to relax himself.

Three Horrors happened today. The first horror had been purchasing girl clothes. He nearly received a heart attack in the changing room, and he hoped he wouldn't have to do that again. The second horror had been running _into_ Masaomi. Yes, he hadn't been recognized – again – but he hadn't been prepared for it. He was scared his voice would crack back or something insane would happen. But then again, something insane did happen, which counted as the third horror: he now had to arrange a _date_ with Masaomi.

_I can't believe I'm going to have to go on a _date_ with him now …_ Mikado frowned. These things were going too fast for him. _Wait, how does a date even go?_ He didn't have experience on this. Not even from a male's stance did he have experience on this. Had life continued normally, he would need a male's advice on a male's stance. And he would have gone to Masaomi, despite Masaomi's failure at dating. But he couldn't do that, as his male's stance would have been _Masaomi_, and he needed a female stance anyway. _Sooo then … what do I do?_ He'd probably have to wing it. Maybe he could find out some information online later …

Once his head dulled down to a simple throb, he got back up and started taking off the rest of the clothes, taking the bag with the new clothes and stuffing everything into the closet. He'd worry about the clothes at some other time. Right now, he should get his mind off of this and focus on more important matters, like what might happen next with the gangs, or whether his history test was on Thursday or Friday …  
*

School came quicker than he thought, and once again, some member trailed behind him on his way to school. Oh, how vexing this could be. The surveillance was still a problem, but so was Masaomi, too. He had absolutely no idea how to go about it.

_Is there anything I can do to avoid this date?_ He wondered to himself. This really was becoming too much for him: yes, it might show he was dedicated, but there was only so far he could go before questioning his sanity. _I could "dump" him, but …_ he shook his head slightly. _Then there won't be any way to contact him, and it might only end up hurting him. But then again, it'd hurt him a lot to figure out who I really was, too. _What should he do? It wasn't like this situation was "normal" in any sense of the word, and asking around for advice would humiliate him even further ... _Maybe I could postpone it for a while?_ He _had_ used the excuse that he didn't want his "parents" knowing he was dating. And it seemed to work on Masaomi. _Maybe I could say that my parents want me to do something …_ he'd hold onto that excuse for now.

He continued attempting to think up solutions towards the end of the day, but each one seemed either too flawed or too insane to work. But, an old idea resurfaced while sitting in his last class.

_Maybe I could try to run into him as I am now!_ He decided. He contemplated this before, and had dismissed it for fear that the Blue Squares would start trailing Masaomi too, but if he only searched once in a while then no one would really suspect anything. And, he had new information to rely on as well. _Masaomi-kun said he was looking for a job, and he was searching through the stores and jobs around here, so he has to be living somewhere nearby … it's even possible he moved back into his own home._

So he could check Masaomi's apartment as his own self with not much trouble; if the surveillance got curious, he could say he was simply dropping off some homework for a sick kid. It wasn't like there were any members in his actual _class_ … he thought, anyways. He didn't know half the members, but he doubted they were in his class. Kuronuma seemed to be the closest member of the Blue Squares to him in school, so he doubted they observed him that intensively in school. _Sonohara-san could come with me, too …_

When the ending bell finally rang, he met up with Anri in the hallway. Mikado glanced over down the hallway, seeing that Kuronuma was being harassed by the Orihara twins (it looked like they were trying to drag him somewhere while he clung to the doorway), so much so that he definitely wasn't paying attention to Mikado, or eavesdropping on any conversations. He still didn't know what to think of the twins, but right now, he was grateful. He now had a chance to talk with Anri about visiting Masaomi's place. So, taking a deep breath, he turned to talk to her.

"Sonohara-san?"

Anri turned to look up at him. "Yes?"

"U-uh, well, Sonohara-san, I …" Mikado breathed in. "I heard a rumor t-that Kida-kun might be back in town …"

He saw her eyes widen a little in surprise, and she was waiting for him to continue.

"I don't know if it's true or not, b-but maybe we could stop by his apartment, see if he's there …?"

She nodded, seemingly unsure of how to react. He wasn't surprised. He wouldn't really know how to react to rumors of Masaomi's return, either, and Anri was a rather shy girl. The two soon departed, trying to make small talk (and failing miserably) as they headed towards Masaomi's old apartment.  
*

Hungry.

That was what he was. Hungry. Masaomi heard his stomach growl as he rolled over on the bed, glaring back up at the ceiling. He could attempt to cook something again, but he hadn't cooked in such a while on his own that his skills had grown rusty. And all the microwavable food was gone. He could resort to eating things from the fridge raw, but where was the fun in that? It's more fun to burn whatever's in the pan and convert it to dark ash that's next to impossible to scrub out of the pan. He even burned his breakfast this morning, and it tasted awful. He didn't think he could swallow much more burnt food.

He anxiously awaited his phone to start ringing; he really hoped someone would hire him eventually. He doubted he'd get anything right away, but anything was better than working for the ass. But it was ever boring waiting for the stupid phone to ring …

_Bzzz!_

His head snapped around when he heard the doorbell; ultimately, he became confused. His brain was wired to think that maybe his parents came home unannounced (and would see the disaster in the kitchen made in the morning), but his parents wouldn't _ring_ the doorbell … they'd just walk in. It was technically their apartment.

Then he scowled as he thought of who it might me. It was _Izaya_, wasn't it? Perhaps trying to weasel him into another nightmare or "talk" him back into working for him? _Better go check_, he decided. If it was the informant, he'd just leave him standing out there.

So, he rolled off his bed, and made his way – silently – through the hallway, leaning gently against the front door to look through the peephole.

His heart nearly stopped when he realized who stood a mere few feet away from him. Even though their faces were warped through the glass, he would never be able to forget those faces.

He quickly leaned back, keeping himself devoid of all sounds except the ones rambling through his mind. _Mikado and Anri … what are they doing here? _He wasn't ready to see them yet! Not by a long shot … he didn't even know what he _would_ say to them. But what were they doing here? At his door? Did they somehow know he was back? Or did they come "check" like this every so often? Why would they do that?

A knock then came instead of the doorbell, each knock sending him a shock. After remaining frozen for a few minutes, he could hear their voices from the other side of the door.

"I don't think he's here …" _That's Anri. Anri-chan … _she still sounded as sweet as ever.

"I guess th-that rumor wasn't true after all …" _And that's Mikado …_ he still sounded as shy and dumb as ever.

"Maybe we can check again another day," Anri suggested, and he heard footsteps walking away from his door. He waited until he couldn't hear the footsteps anymore, and sunk down to the floor with his back against the wall, feeling the terror linger even though the threat had passed.

_Why did they come?_ He had heard the answer, but it wasn't what he meant. Why did they come here at the drop of a rumor? Why would they do that?

… _Why didn't I answer them?_ He felt his heart sink in despair. He had the chance … he was right there … but he couldn't bring himself to answer.

_I'm sorry …_

… _I'm still not ready._  
*

Mikado returned home and, somewhat depressed, started on his homework. About an hour later, though, his back-up phone buzzed, and he opened it to read.

[_Hello, Mi-chan! Have you given any thought about the date?_]

He sighed. _Well, at least he's still around … _it was possible that Masaomi was at home, but either he wasn't there at that moment, or he ignored them. He wasn't sure which one it would be.

[_Yes. Is 6 PM okay?_]

A few minutes later, his phone buzzed. [_Definitely! We can share dinner then too! Want me to pick you up?_]

_That would be a definitely no._ Mikado frowned. Suddenly, he imagined Masaomi coming to his house to pick "her" up and discovering the truth … _his reaction would be hilarious for a split second. _But no, that wouldn't end well. [_Can we meet somewhere instead?_]

[_Like where?_]

… _Good question._ He had no idea how to respond. Where would one meet for a date? Would one meet at the place where one plans to go, or meet somewhere else so that the two could walk to the place they were planning to go? _This is too confusing._

Thankfully, Masaomi unknowingly saved him the trouble of asking. [_Do you want to see a movie or go somewhere, or do you just want to walk around?_]

[_I'm not sure._] Mikado certainly wasn't. He didn't like any of those available scenarios; he didn't even like the overall idea of _dating_ him. _Not a whole lot you can do about it now._ At least he would always have the option of just stopping the cross-dressing at any time he wanted, and "vanishing." He would always have that option.

[_How about we meet outside the theater? We can decide what we'll do from there._]

… That sounded safe. He sighed in relief. _Masaomi's taking care of all my worries._ That was a plus … he guessed. [_Alright, I'll see you there then._] And with that, he shut his phone, intent on forgetting about everything for two days until it would be Saturday.


	7. The Date

**AN:** Yes … we know it's been a while … and we doubt you'll forgive us. We have legitimate excuses, but we know even those won't save us from the onslaught of knives about to be thrown at us when we announce that we're planning to stop fanfiction writing by the end of January 2012. We're going to try to wrap up everything before then, but we'd like to know which fanfictions we should be focusing on the most (visible on our newer poll). Well, please enjoy the new chapter, and review!

**Kink Link (Without Spaces): **http : / / drrrkink . livejournal . com / 3511 . html ? thread = 10785207 # t10785207

**Disclaimer: **We do not in any way own the characters/scenes/ … oh you know the drill I'm sure.

* * *

**From Best Friend to Girlfriend**

**A Durarara! Fanfiction written by Kitty & Foxy**

**Chapter Seven: The Date**

* * *

He had hoped that the two days until Saturday would pass slowly, and, after having arranged it, he secretly hoped that somehow, in some way or fashion, it would be cancelled. But, instead, Saturday approached far too quickly, and here he was, standing in front of his old mirror, attempting to work up the courage to fasten the padded bra's hook. The twitching of his fingers only showed how anxious, nervous, and humiliated he felt at the moment, and the longer he stood there the greater he began to regret throwing himself into this situation.

Here stood Mikado, halfway through the process of cross-dressing for a date he had with his old best friend (who thought he was a she), Masaomi. How could he _not_ be nervous? _How did all of this start, anyway?_ Mikado grumbled to himself as he fixed the clasps and pulled it up across his shoulders, bending back down to pick up the shirt and knee-length skirt he ended up picking from the two or three outfits he had. _It started with wanting to avoid the Blue Squares … so how exactly did I get here again?_

He could simply ditch the date, but his heart would berate and torment him for it, and no doubt that whichever option he chose, it would be the worst option. He realized that most "best friends" wouldn't do this for the other, or even get near doing this for the other … come to think of it, he might even be among the _first_ to do such a stunt. But, if thought about it, their friendship had parted too abruptly, with too many things left unsaid, unanswered … _it feels like a door slammed on our hands, but we're still holding on,_ he thought and frowned. _I'm beginning to think like a girl, using cheesy analogies._

Nonetheless, he continued the process of dressing up, pinning his wig down onto his head, brushing out the hair so it didn't look like a complete mess, and putting on the makeup that made him appear more feminine than he actually was. After several previous attempts (some of which had failed) and serious studies of the magazines and internet tutorials (thank god for the internet!), he finally figured out how to properly apply each of the different applications. Now, he didn't want to _ever_ have to put on too much, but he felt it would be a good idea to figure it out _now_ rather than when he needed it. _IF_ he ever needed it.

When all was said and done, he stared at himself in the mirror, psyching himself out with each second his eyes locked with his reflection's own eyes. _Am I really going to do this? I mean, I'll never live this down if anyone finds out_ …

Yet, at the same idea, that gave him a thrill of sorts. To be this conniving, to be walking into a situation that could potentially ruin him forever … it felt strange, very similar to what most people would call a "high." And with that revelation, he broke his gaze and picked up his bag, opening his front door a crack to ensure he could slip to the downstairs without the Blue Squares noticing "him," and with the sound of low heels hitting the pavement, he headed down the street, breaking free of their ever watchful gaze.

He would have his first date … as _Tanaka Mikan._

And it would be with his thick-minded best friend.  
*

"Mikan" wasn't the only one that fretted. The time was 5:42, and Masaomi could still be found in his apartment, attempting to comb out his bed-head from having slept in (and forgetting to set the alarm).

_Damn it, damn it!_ He inwardly swore; he had been up nearly the entirety of the night, filling out applications for jobs and looking up ads, then he had slept in and had nearly forgotten his date with _Mikan-chan._

"I can't leave such a pretty princess on the sidewalk! Damn it, how could I forget?" He had been enthralled with charm when she actually _accepted_ his flirtatious invitation. Well, Saki had too … but Izaya had set her up, had set him up. Scowling as he remembered this, he gave up on his hair, deciding that that one little twinge on the side would give him flair, if nothing else. _Aaah, Mikan-chan, you definitely caught a winner! Granted, I'm still going to flirt with others of the female persuasion, but so long as we're together, I won't go much further than compliments. _This definitely was like medicine; his depression from Saki, his depression from his friends' visitation on him – finding a girl willing to date him clearly knocked away many of his problems. But, on the thought of problems, a stray thought crossed his mind:

_Wait … how do I know that asshole didn't set this up, too?_

His heart began to fall a little, slowing down as his sparkling thoughts began to dull. _If Mikado and Anri heard rumors about my being here … then _he_ probably knows as well. He might have known from the start, might have arranged something … I wouldn't put it past him to arrange a group of thugs to gang up on a girl he planted, I mean, he arranged it so Saki's leg would be _broken_ …_

For a moment, he began to contemplate going to the date, after all. He shoved his hand in his pocket, letting his fingers grasp around the phone ever so slightly. _If he set it up, this could end badly … but what if he didn't_? He didn't want to believe that it all might be fake, or some twisted form of love, but past experience had taught himself otherwise …

_Alright, I'll just be cautious. Eventually something'll slip if _he _did set this up. _Masaomi nodded to himself, and with that in mind, he too headed out towards the theater, dressed rather casually (but more than just a simple hoodie).

This would be his first date with Mikan!  
*

Mikado waited nervously outside the movie theater – _only a few steps from where he pulled me away,_ he noted with embarrassment – knowing he would recognize Masaomi when he arrived. Still, this was truly nerve-wracking. Dressed as a girl in public, he thought that everyone around him could recognize him and knew he was actually male. There had to be _some_ people that noticed the "ruggedness," at the very least. He didn't look _that _convincingly feminine, did he? He doubted it, he didn't have the natural curves that women did. He could fake the breasts, but the hips he could not. Someone had to notice, but then his mind travelled to perverts ogling him and that made him feel all the more awkward. He knew he would have this crisis every time he came out in girl's clothing.

He had yet to adapt to the fact that it felt open … down there. He wasn't sure how women felt comfortable with the space (but then again, they didn't have the same genitalia he did. He felt far more exposed than he wanted to be). Heck, he wasn't sure how they felt comfortable with any of this. How do they balance on heels and not break their necks (and how do they avoid sore feet?)? How do they stand the makeup on their face without wanting to scratch at it? He didn't even layer on that much makeup and he had to fight the urge to grate it off. Plus, the bra straps were digging awkwardly into his back.

_Maybe their curves help them adapt or something …_ he thought somewhat bitterly, averting his eyes from people and trying to blend into the background. He wasn't doing a very good job of it, either, but not for the reasons he believed. They weren't noticing him because he was a man in women's clothing, it was because he looked like a nervous female that couldn't stop fidgeting.

_Just hurry up and get here, Masaomi, so this can end …_ he thought with a sigh, deciding to take out his cell phone and check the Dollar's site in an attempt to set his mind elsewhere.

Yet, just when he finally began to feel comfortable …

"Mikan-chan!"

Suddenly something blond appeared in front of him.

His cell phone nearly slipped out of his hands, but he caught in time, somehow keeping a straight face, shutting it and quickly tucking it away. As a boy, he was used to Masaomi spontaneously appearing from any angle, but as a cross-dressed boy, every time something startled him, his brain automatically reached the conclusion that he had been caught.

This did not seem to be the case, at least not this time around.

"K-Kida-san …" Mikado feigned in his higher voice, attempting his best to be convincing. _He's here_ … he felt the tug again, but he knew he couldn't let it show. For now, he had to be with Masaomi in this roundabout way, and he had to fake it well.

"I told you to call me Masa-chan, darling!"

He could not help the twitching of his brow. "… I-It's a little too soon for that, isn't it?"

Masaomi leaned backward, appearing to think for a moment. "No, I don't think it's too soon at all!" He laughed, and then decided he would be forward and took a hold of Mikado's wrist. "Let's go in, shall we?"

Mikado nodded, avoiding eye contact. _… How did I get myself into this again?_

He would remind himself of that at least thirty-six more times during the "date."

Masaomi had decided to rattle off the entire list of movies available when they went inside, feeling the need to gesture each one as he gave his opinion; the most amusing had been his imitation of a layman fighting off a vampire (he had not been really listening to the movies themselves). He didn't show much expression or reaction to the gestures themselves, but he still smiled. Despite having to be in this form, he could still be near Masaomi … the Masaomi that goofed off, flirted (although, this time, the flirting was directed _at _him and not some girl on the street), and seemed happy enough, unlike the one that had been slyly avoiding them. _I don't understand what was wrong … yes, he was a gang leader, but was that really a reason to run from us?_

Anyone passing by would've thought that by the way "Mikan" was watching Masaomi, "she" had a crush on him. Oh how wrong they really were. It just goes to show that you shouldn't assume such things in life.  
*

"So, what movie do you want to see?"

Masaomi finished his list, satisfied with the explanations he had given, and was now staring rather _intently_ at Mikan. She looked momentarily confused, but then smiled awkwardly. "W-whatever you think is okay," she chuckled.

He trailed his eyes over to one of the movie signs. "Okay, then let's go see Mo –"

"No," now she had abruptly cut him off, and Masaomi inwardly laughed at her expression. _She didn't even let me finish! _He had been about to name a movie quite well known for its adult themes, but he should've known better. She didn't seem too much of a dunce.

"Alright, then how about …" He frowned , looking around at the boards again. "Yuuhei Hanejima's new film?"

He heard no objections, so he smiled and ran up to the counter, purchasing the tickets and returning, a big, goofy smile on his face. _Hopefully this date will be nice! _He then narrowed his eyes a little after handing the second ticket over. _… I really hope _he_ didn't plan or mess with this …_

But, he figured he at least knew the dangers now. He would figure that out before anything bad happened, and he wouldn't get involved in the gang wars again. Plus, looking at this girl, he doubted she was involved in any gangs. She looked more like a studious, normal human being …

_But that's what you thought about Mikado, too …_

Suddenly, he felt glum. Mikan had started to walk towards the hall, but hesitated and turned her head to look at him questioningly. "M- Kida-san?"

He snapped himself out of it, chuckling. "Ah, coming!" He caught up, missing the concerned expression that she held. Rather, he shifted his focus to observing her. All girls are different, he had to remember. This one didn't have the greatest build, and seemed somewhat awkward in her movements, but it didn't mean anything bad. Personality and love is what mattered!

The two headed into the theater together, and although Masaomi attempted to convince her to sit towards the back ("but it's what a boy and a girl do! It's practically reserved for couples!"), but she had merely sent him a deadpan look, telling him there would only be so much she'd put up with. _She's got some attitude. Not a bad thing, it makes things more amusing!_ Masaomi inwardly declared, but he soon realized that if she would only put up with certain things, then he would have to find out those limitations.

When they found seats that she approved of, he began to feel nervous. She picked up on it, too.

"Kida-san, are you alright?" She questioned, sounding genuinely concerned. _How can I hate a cute thing like that?_ He wondered.

"E-eh, I just don't usually make it this far with girls." He laughed a bit nervously, scratching his head a little. She seemed satisfied, if not unsurprised, by this answer.

The movie started, and about twenty minutes in, Masaomi felt nervous again. He had dated Saki before, but he was no fool about girls in some aspects. He knew that every girl should be treated and considered different from one another, otherwise they get mad and think you're lumping them all into one category. Saki hadn't minded leaning up against him with his arm around her shoulders, but he knew that wouldn't pass with all girls, and might not be enough with others. So, he decided, he should be forward.

_But this one has already denied sitting in the back … so where do I start?_ He wondered. During the length of the movie, he remained more focused on this problem than on the movie itself. He noted that she seemed more interested in the movie, almost as if she's trying to ignore his presence. _That's not going to do! It either means she doesn't like me, or she doesn't like my lack of action!_

And then, as it does in most movies, there's the goopy, sappy, romantic scene. Masaomi felt certain movie directors put them in there to help guys in all movie theaters bump up a level with their girls. _Chance_! He grinned, and decided to sneak his arm around her shoulders, hearing the cutest squeaking protest come from her as she jumped, somewhat surprised. "What're you-?" _Did her voice just crack? Doesn't matter!_

He leaned in his head, grinning from ear to ear, watching her blush. Finally, a reaction from her! "Would you like to kiss your prince?" He grinned cheekily.

He should've predicted the next moment. From her past actions, she didn't like sudden or extremely forward motions, and tended to react roughly or in self-defense. He felt her hand roughly shove his face away from hers, and heard her shift as she started to get up and tried to run out of the movie theater.  
*

_This is just getting too awkward,_ Mikado twitched, having just shoved his buddies' face away from his own, feeling flustered, embarrassed, and a large variety of other emotions. He was a guy, too – feeling an arm wrap around him in such a … a "tender" way was _not_ something he wanted to experience, nor was kissing his best friend such an option. He knew that Masaomi had yet to get a clue, but …!

Deciding enough was enough for tonight, he quickly stood up and, cursing his heels, did his best to hurry out of the theater. The surprised blond remained silent as he jumped up too, following after him. Once he made it into the hall, the bumbling blond had burst out of the doors as well, grabbing his wrist and holding it.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry, that was too forward!" Masaomi apologized, Mikado deciding he would stop and listen (although he still was blushing, something he would never want to admit) for just the moment.

"I'm sorry, I'm going to head home." Mikado replied, feeling too uncomfortable. _Perhaps this crossdressing is getting too carried away …_

"I'm really sorry, I won't do it again. Just pleeaaassee promise you'll still contact me?"

Mikado twitched when he saw the puppy eyes as he released her wrist. Oh _why_ the puppy eyes? _Masaomi, I would much rather contact you as Mikado rather than "Mikan" …_ but Masaomi didn't seem ready to do that. And Mikado wasn't about to burst out of costume, either.

"… Okay," he sighed in defeat, feigning the girl's voice. _Don't EVER be that forward with me again, _he inwardly prayed. He was still straight, and anything like that would hurt his pride and scar him … "I'm going to go home, still." He replied, feeling uncomfortable. He knew Masaomi could sense it, and was somewhat hurt by it, but he seemed happy that "she" would still contact him.

_Masaomi, if only you knew the crap I put up for your sake …_ Mikado inwardly sighed. _My pride will likely be shattered by the time this is over.  
*_

_"_Okay, I understand." Masaomi nodded, and decided he'd let Mikan go home on her own. He sensed her discomfort, and it was understandable … she didn't seem that used to the social situations, or dating, or anything along those lines. He waited for her to be gone from his sight before he himself headed home, feeling a little let down, but thankful it seemed that she would give him another shot. _And I won't screw it up this time!_ He swore.

Little did either realize that things would eventually become far more complicated …


	8. Izaya Knows

**AN:** Thank you for your support, everyone. We completed an outline of how this story will look when done; it looks like if we do this, it'll end up as twenty chapters (we cannot say for certain, but that is what it is approximating as). So we think we're going to try to whip on through this one, and then move on to one of our other works. Everything's updating slowly because we're working on everything, published and unpublished. Yes, we still have a bit to go. We think you'll enjoy this chapter. It's exclusively Mikado's point of view, but Masaomi will have his times next time. The title should say it all.

**Kink Link (Without Spaces): **http : / / drrrkink . livejournal . com / 3511 . html ? thread = 10785207 # t10785207

**Disclaimer: **We do not in any way own the characters/scenes/ … oh you know the drill I'm sure.

* * *

**From Best Friend to Girlfriend**

**A Durarara! Fanfiction written by Kitty & Foxy**

**Chapter Eight: Izaya Knows**

* * *

If there were one thing in the world that Mikado knew that continued to baffle him, it would have to be the times in which Masaomi was silent. He had gotten the silent treatment before at times, especially when they were younger and the then-not-blond child would have emotional extremities and pout over the silliest of things, but these kinds of silences, they still seemed so … _unusual._ As his real self, the silence had persisted for nearly a year, and now, as the "girl," he hadn't heard a thing in nearly a week! And _both_ were making him anxious.

In a way, he understood it – silence meant that Masaomi might actually be thinking, which he knew was something he ought to encourage more – but he'd grown so used to the extroverted bumble of a blond that _not_ hearing words ramble away made it incredibly awkward. He was used to being a listener, not a speaker, in crowd scenarios.

So, here he was, cleaning up his apartment and worrying about it. _There's not much else to do_, he thought, sighing. He finished his studies, there wasn't a whole lot going on in the world right now (_Other than being stalked,_ he thought with a twitch) and, in boredom, he couldn't do anything else but focus on worrying and wondering. So he took to scrubbing his filthy apartment clean in an attempt to pass the time … it wasn't working too well.

He slopped the rag down on the counter, grumbling to himself when he had finished cleaning up his small kitchen area. _I've cleaned the floor, kitchen, bathroom … I should take care of the laundry,_ he noted to himself, spying the heap of clothes that had been growing in the hamper. He walked over to the closet area, tossing the clothes neatly into the hamper and grabbing the washing soap in one hand before hesitating as he looked at a separate pile of clothes in that closet. Specifically, he saw his disguise clothes – the girl clothes. _… I should clean them too …_

The mere thought of cleaning _those_ clothes unsettled him. For one, the tenants jointly shared the washing machine located downstairs, meaning he would have to carry them down and hope that no one else was doing laundry at the moment. Yes, there were only three other tenants in other rooms, and then the landlord took the first floor, but it still seemed risky.

_They have to be cleaned, the sooner I get it done, the better._ He decided. Knowing that if he lingered on it too long his thoughts would make his ability to do it worse, he quickly shoved the garments into his laundry hamper and buried them under some of his own clothes so they weren't directly on top. He took up the soap and decided to head out to the downstairs before he could psych himself out. He spied, once more, his spies-pretending-not-to-be-spies, and he frowned. _They're becoming an even greater annoyance …_

He quickly headed to the downstairs, stepping into the laundry room and shutting the door, still feeling quite nervous. He knew the spies wouldn't follow him in here, a card was needed to get inside this particular room, and the landlord could easily scare them off. It might be a stereotype that landlords look beastly, but in his case, it was all very true.

Thankfully, no one else was in the laundry room at that time, so he could easily shove his clothes inside the washer, stick in soap, and insert a few yen to get it started. Sighing, he left his hamper by the machine and decided to wander back upstairs for the time being. _Finally, I was able to do something without worrying too much about it,_ he had to admit. Allowing himself a small smile, he went back over, deciding to sit down at his computer. All his chores were done, and so was his homework, so he decided to relax a little (even though he began to feel somewhat bored).

However, it wasn't too long before his phone buzzed. Curious, he took it out, flipping it open to see whom the message came from.

[_Hello Mikan-chan! Sorry for not contacting you for so long – want to go out with me again?_] After that message, some absurd, over elaborate smiley face took up half the cell phone's screen.

… _Masaomi, I'm beginning to wonder if you're really worth the trouble._ Mikado groaned, but he knew he'd been over this before. He just had no one else to blame at the moment. He slouched down at the table, staring at the phone for a moment, feeling his throat dry out as he stared at the smiley. Deciding enough was enough, he answered, hoping that no more ridiculous smileys come from the stupid flirt called a friend. [_I am not sure. Are you going to behave?_]

He should have just sucked the words back into his mouth. His phone buzzed, and the answer was rather … pathetic. [_Of course I will~! You can even leash me and wave a bone, I'll beg for it!_]

Mikado did not care for that particular image. [_No._]

[_Ok ok, I'm sorry. Still go out with me?_]

Suddenly, this mental image seemed more pathetic than the previous dog scenario. _What did you expect, Mikado? He doesn't have any luck with women, and you gave him an invitation. Of course, he hasn't found out that it's _you_ yet …_ He hoped it would stay that way. [_Why?_] He did want to see Masaomi, but seeing him too often as his "girl" persona wasn't exactly what he wished.

[_Why not? :)_]

… Such a simple answer stumped him. But then he remembered a ploy that he guessed girls used (at least, he had determined this from his research). [_I don't want my parents to become suspicious._]

Amazingly, there was no quick response from Masaomi. _Hah, it worked. Maybe he'll leave the girl me alone for a while longer –_

[_Then tell them I'm a girl and that I'm part of a study group or something! Or I can come over and introduce myself!_]

… _He wouldn't._ Mikado cursed. _Masaomi, can't you just come and talk to the real me and Anri and everyone else before this drives me insane? I only cross-dressed in the first place to get away from my stalkers, not … ugh._ He pinched his brow. [_No. But if we go out soon, promise you'll let some more time pass before meeting up again? They will become suspicious if I go out too often like this!_]

This time, the answer was prompt. [_Great! Shall we meet tonight, in the park area near _?_]

[_Okay._] Mikado answered, shutting his phone and shoving it in his pocket, ignoring the next buzz. _It's probably something corny or pathetic,_ he decided, knowing his friend all too well. Some more time passed, until he closed a tab on the internet and realization hit him as he looked at the clock. It was getting close to the time, and he needed to get the girl clothes … clothes …

"A-ah, I forgot the laundry!" Mikado cursed, hopping up so fast that he could easily challenge a hare in a footrace, running towards his door and tearing down the stairs to the room below. Fumbling for his card, he swiped to get in and opened the door –

Lo and behold, there was his landlord, apparently removing Mikado's finished laundry to do his own. And, of course, he was curiously staring at the … strange clothing in the batch.

Their eyes met, and Mikado began to stutter, racking his brains for an answer – _any_ answer – and he couldn't _find_ any. _God damn it! Come up with an answer!_ But … he couldn't!

The old landlord began to laugh a little, tossing Mikado's laundry back into the hamper that he presumed (correctly) was Mikado's. "Got a girl friend, huh? A pretty close one at that."

"E-e-it's not l-li-!" Mikado began to protest, unable to find words. He knew he couldn't exactly come out and say that they were _his_ clothes, so what exactly could he say or do?

"No worries, just keep in mind that your apartment's only for released for one, and to keep noise minimal. Otherwise, I might have to evict you!" The landlord laughed, resuming his own laundry.

Mikado dumbly stood there, deciding that perhaps this assumption (though now his reputation was tarnished) was the best one at the current time. He grudgingly took his laundry, quickly heading back upstairs and avoiding the gaze of his old landlord.

_Damn it, _Mikado cursed, his face beat red. _Now the landlord thinks I have a g-g- _he couldn't even _think_ it properly! And worse yet, the landlord _must_ think that he and the … friend were intimate. After all, why _else _would he be doing "her" laundry with his? _This is getting worse and worse, _he begrudgingly moaned to himself, wanting to hide in a corner of his room and wish it away. But he knew that would not solve anything. _I'm going to have to end it soon before this gets a lot, lot more involved._ After all, he moved to the city where things were always exciting, something was bound to happen. And although he enjoyed the ideas of thrills and fun and adventures, he did not wish to come out of this situation known as a transvestite, or anything that could be tacked onto it.

He shoved the laundry aside, sitting back down at his laptop and trying to wash away the embarrassment by distracting his mind with something else. Despite his peeves for neatness, he would not be folding the laundry that night.

*  
It took a while for Mikado to regain his courage after the laundry incident (which he will never speak of again) to put on the disguise and head out in the direction of the park. His humiliation had made putting his makeup on difficult, and he had to redo it several times. He found it surprising that he even found any courage at all to go through with it, but he did, and he knew not to think too much about it or he _would_ back out.

He headed to the park area Masaomi wanted to meet at, feeling slightly more confident in the female clothes at this point. After all, no one screamed "it's a dude!" yet and he'd been out how often? Though he would never directly admit it due to male ego, his subconscious knew that he could pull it off fairly well, and could continue to do so if he made it more convincing.

Still, he knew, he had issues. He still had the mannerisms of a guy, and if he forgot to change them, he could be quite obvious. So far, Masaomi had pretty much only seen "Mikan" during the later, night hours, or in the dark. For example, he still liked to sit with his legs slightly spread out, and he was fighting the urge to relax them back while waiting for the stupid friend of his to show up. Mikado quickly learned that opening his legs was an automatic "no" when wearing _any _type of skirt, even the longer ones like he wore now that covered his knees. If he spread, his real anatomy's "bump" could be spotted. So he always had to remember to clamp his legs shut.

Stuffing his bra was another problem. He didn't stuff them too largely (hell that would be too obviously fake), but each time he had to make sure they were always approximately the same size. He knew guys looked at girls there, he was a guy and heck even he looked there (not without a blush, though). It was hard not to, men were just wired to look. He also had to make sure no one could see "down" his shirt and see the stuffing or lack of real breasts, so the few clothes he did buy pretty much covered that top part entirely. He had troubles with other female mannerisms, and he was working on them even though he prayed he would never actually become an expert at any of it.

So here he waited, albeit nervously. He started to become lost in his thoughts in an attempt to distract himself, but was startled back to the real world when heavy hands clamped down on his shoulders.

He couldn't help the squeak of shock (grateful, though, that it came out with the higher pitch), sharply turning his head around to see – surprise – Masaomi. Grinning like a fool.

"Hi sweetheart!" He replied cheerily, laughing a little at 'her' surprise. Mikado frowned. _Why the hell does he like to do these sorts of things?_ Even as his actual self, Masaomi was just too … touchy.

"Don't sneak up on me like that!" Mikado snapped, feigning his girl's voice. _I still can't believe he doesn't recognize the real me, even this close up … it says a lot when your best friend can't tell these things._

"Sorry," he replied, climbing back off the earth mound and back onto the sidewalk, offering out his hand to pull 'Mikan' up. Mikado reluctantly accepted, knowing he had to keep up the act. "So where do you want to go?"

"I thought _you _were the one with all the ideas." Mikado sighed.

"Ideas, yes, but you'd likely slap me for them. Aaah, such a shame, and they're really _good_ thoughts!"

_I'd rather not know what's in your mind, Masaomi, because whatever it is is_ not _happening._

"Want to walk around the city?" Masaomi grinned. "I can give you a grand tour, show you all the sites and places to be, especially the lovebird sites~"

Mikado's eyebrow twitched. It has been doing that a lot lately … "All but the love spots."

"Whatever you say, darling. We can start slowly!"

… _Is it just me, or is he being more perverted than usual?_ Mikado inwardly groaned. His jokes were too forward at this point, and having been Masaomi's guy friend as well, he knew what it meant. The more perverted, the more desperate he was down there. _And I have to put up with it. Great._

The two began walking, Mikado letting Masaomi take the lead and ramble on and on. He had already received Masaomi's tour, but firstly, he noticed that Masaomi was avoiding the streets and sites that he and other friends would often take, and secondly, this tour was more flirtatious than the last. But he knew the answers why to both of these.

"So how long have you been living here?" Masaomi inquired with a grin, actually taking a moment to interact rather than talk at him. "You seem to know your way around some."

_Okay, how to do this …?_ "Oh, I've been living here for about two years," Mikado lied, but lied well. After all, Masaomi was too "love struck" to realize anything else. "My family moved here for business reasons."

"Aah, so you do know your way around~" Masaomi grinned.

Mikado decided to ask a question back before Masaomi could press for details on the "family," making Mikado make things up on the spot. "How about you? How long have you been here?"

"Many more years than you, but I come and go," he answered with a grin. "I'm more transient, I enjoy travelling and seeing new things –"

To both of their surprises, a new, but … familiar voice interrupted them. "Masaomi-kun! Fancy seeing you here!"

Mikado froze. _Oh no … no no no no no …_ he didn't want to turn around. Masaomi, however, turned around with a growl. If Mikado had been a normal girl without any knowledge of his male self, he would have been surprised at this mood change, but he was too frightened to turn around.

"Orihara-san …" Masaomi spoke with a hint of hatred, although he seemed to be attempting to tame himself in front of 'her.'

"You still haven't told me why you quit, Masaomi-kun~! " The voice was closer behind them now … but he couldn't look too suspicious, so with a deep breath, he turned his head to look at least at Masaomi. He knew that Izaya was sneering. He didn't need to look to know that. Yes, Orihara Izaya did provide him with an exciting life, but this was something that he did _not_ want the information broker to know.

"Go away, we're in the middle of something." Masaomi affirmed, grabbing Mikado's hand while he tried to hide his face, flushing furiously. _Please don't recognize me …_

"Hmm? Who's this?" Izaya ignored Masaomi's warnings, bending over to meet Mikado eye to eye. Same old Izaya, wearing that fur-lined coat and sticking his nose into other people's business. For a moment, they both just stood there frozen, although for different reasons, and then the worst thing that Mikado could imagine happening _happened._ Okay, second worse thing.

He started laughing. Not just his evil, or sarcastic laughter, _actual laughter. _Izaya pulled back, continuing to laugh as if something was the funniest thing he'd seen in a long, long time.

Masaomi was staring at him weirdly at first, then with anger. "What are you trying to do?" Mikado was at a loss of words, but Izaya's next words confirmed his fear.

"I don't have to do anything! _You've_ already done it for me!" Izaya laughed heartily, grinning in Mikado's direction. "Perhaps better than I could've arranged!"

Mikado felt his heart plummet, his face beginning to burn as he began to stutter and look away. _He knows … he knows he knows he knows …_

Under the wig, the clothing, the slight make-up, he should've known it wouldn't be enough to fool _everyone_. Especially a crafty information broker.

Orihara Izaya had recognized him.

"Go away, Izaya!" Masaomi hissed, and pulled Mikado back, who still nervously glanced back at Izaya, who gave him a light wave and a chuckle. He couldn't think. His brain felt fuzzy, sick, disoriented, and humiliated. After everything, he'd finally been recognized. _This – I can't …_

After Masaomi pulled them both far away, and Izaya had not followed, Masaomi started explaining himself, although Mikado could barely hear it.

"I'm sorry, that guy's an asshole that I unfortunately have acquaintance with. Don't try talking or listening to him, he likes to pull cruel pranks." Masaomi glanced back worriedly. "Are you okay? Did he scare you that badly?"

"I …" Mikado swallowed. "I'm sorry, I'm going home." And before he could get an answer, Mikado turned on heel and started back towards his own apartment, feeling lost in his mind and caught in the headlights. Masaomi didn't follow him, he made sure of that.

He reached home in a whirlwind of thoughts, tore off the wig, and sat back against the wall, feeling a mild panic attack begin to take over. _I was recognized … the disguise never was perfect, but …_ he began to whine, curling his head into his knees, wishing he could erase the last few hours entirely, but knew he couldn't. _Something_ was bound to happen now. What had started as a harmless evasion tactic was beginning to take shape as an elaborate, dangerous hoax. And he had no doubt that Izaya was going to do everything he could to pull strings. He just hoped it wouldn't be outrageous. He hoped his reputation wouldn't become a cross-dressing gang leader. His thoughts too jumbled to be coherent and his nerves too shot to do anything else, all he could do now was mull over the last few hours and sink into utter disgrace.

*  
Three days later, Mikado had ignored the text messages from Masaomi (most of them worried), trying to push the last events out of his mind. He did his best to occupy himself with school and avoid the landlord, Izaya, and anyone else that might remind him of his unfortunate mishaps.

However, that evening, something happened that he couldn't ignore. Gears were suddenly being put into motion, and he knew things were going to be far, far worse when he opened his apartment door to find a rather large package outside, addressed to him from who-knew-where. He would later discover that it was piled full of female clothing (his size, too), but for now, he picked up the envelope attached to it, taking out the small message.

His hand began to shake and his face flushed once more as his mind turned over in a mixture of emotions that he couldn't even describe. He could immediately guess whom the note had come from when he began to read it, and he knew his charade was merely the beginning of a grander scheme at this moment in time.

_How amusing that you've completely fooled him! He even felt the need to threaten me!_

_These should help you in the long run. Don't worry, I won't tell!_

Mikado now knew: the Devil had become involved.


End file.
